Food Safety Raids Unearth Major Violations
Officials seize unsafe food, suspend dairy licences and flag major hygiene lapses
Hyderabad: Several food safety violations were detected during inspections at restaurants, cloud kitchens and dairy units across Telangana on Wednesday.
Food safety officials in Malkajgiri seized about five kg of pest-infested moong dal from Palamuru Grill in Uppal. They also found expired flavouring agents, unhygienic and disorganised storage areas, and five packets of sweet saunf without expiry dates.
Raids conducted by Commissioner of Food Safety teams at two dairy units in Sangareddy on July 7 and 8 revealed misbranded dairy products, including curd and paneer, with misleading labels. Officials also found expired laboratory chemicals used for food testing, poor hygiene, inadequate records, pest infestation and structural deficiencies. The licences of Saraswathi Dairy Products India and Divya Enterprises were suspended following the serious violations.
In the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation limits, officials seized synthetic food colours from Arabian Mandi. The restaurant had also failed to maintain water testing reports and medical fitness certificates for food handlers.
At Siddique Khanna Centre near the BJP office in Kukatpally, inspectors found meat stored improperly, water stagnation in the wash area, overflowing dustbins, lack of hot water for utensil sanitisation and inadequate storage space.
The Shree Dwaraka Grand cloud kitchen was found operating with an expired FSSAI licence while continuing to process online orders. Officials seized expired butter and chana dal, and found four to five cats inside the kitchen, which was also infested with cockroaches and flies.
At Wine Dine Kitchen & Bar near Rainbow Vistas, officials found rat droppings in the dal storage area, expired mushrooms, improper segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, rusting freezers and the absence of medical fitness certificates for food handlers.
Meanwhile, following a recent food safety inspection, Mehfil restaurant at Hitec City in Madhapur has installed live kitchen display screens to allow customers to view food preparation activities.